Strangers
by Lyrical Ballads
Summary: "My mother always told me not to talk to strangers, you know. I should have listened to her."
1. 1923

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _The Mummy._

**Author's Note: **Here's a little something I've been wanting to write for a very long time now, but I kept putting it off. This story is intended to be a three-parter, so this chapter is the first out of three.

* * *

**Strangers**

* * *

1923

Beni hated Egypt.

He hated every country the Legion came tramping through, but Egypt was the worst. Not a single cloud filled the sky in Egypt. Not even one measly cloud to bring relief from that bright, cruel sun that glared down at him from dawn to dusk. Sure, it was better than the harsh winters he once suffered in Budapest, but it didn't change the fact that Egypt had lousy weather.

He felt stifled beneath his uniform as he trudged down Cairo's noisy streets, hating the stares he attracted from passerby. Nobody liked Legionnaires. There was nothing honorable about being in the French Foreign Legion and Beni eyed up some fabric for sale in one of the numerous little marketplaces that littered the city. He was tempted to steal some clothing so he could blend in better while his garrison was camped at Cairo, but of course he would have no place to hide it. There was no privacy in the Legion.

A bead of sweat rolled down Beni's underarm and he cursed out loud in his native language, voicing all the Hungarian swear words he knew. He was tired of the heat. He was tired of marching. He was sick and tired of Egypt.

"That's very rude of you, sir," somebody said behind him.

The speaker could have been addressing anyone, but Beni immediately knew she was talking to him and him alone because she spoke in his own language. He couldn't remember the last time he heard someone speak Hungarian. It was ages ago, long before he was pulled into the particular brand of hell known as the Legion.

"What do you care?" he said in Hungarian, turning around to face the woman who addressed him. "I'm having a bad day."

"That's no excuse for your choice of words," she said.

She was a young woman who kept her face partially shielded by a wide-brimmed hat and wore her long, dark blonde hair in a braid down her back. Not much to look at, though Beni wouldn't object to having her skirt pushed up and her legs wrapped around him.

"But I guess it doesn't matter," she continued, eagerness creeping into her voice. "It's been so long since I heard anyone speak my language." She pushed back her hat just a little, revealing blue eyes that looked Beni up and down, taking in every detail of his hot, miserable appearance. "You're a soldier. But you're from Hungary, aren't you? What city are you from?"

Beni sullenly kicked at a rock on the ground. "Budapest."

"Oh." She seemed disappointed. "I'm from Vasvar."

Beni was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this encounter. He chose to wander the streets in order to escape his garrison for a while, not make idle chatter with a woman who probably hoped they were long-lost cousins or something. He started to walk away without bothering to reply, hoping to find a bar he could hide out in, but she called him back.

"Wait!" She sounded breathless, overcome with excitement at finding someone who spoke her language, and her words tumbled out in a rush. "You look tired. Hungry, too. Are you hungry at all?"

Beni halted at the mention of hunger. He was starving after marching around all day on nothing but warm, stale-tasting water and food that was just barely edible and did nothing to fill him. And he had to admit, it _was_ kind of nice to converse with someone in Hungarian for a change. He spoke perfectly fine English, but the two Americans in his garrison, O'Connell and Wilcox, never let him forget that he was a foreigner trying to master a language that wasn't his own. O'Connell was too dumb to be malicious about it, but Wilcox always made fun of his accent, which made no sense when Wilcox could barely speak proper English himself. Always said "ain't" instead of "isn't" and dropped the g's from his "-ing" verbs, and yet Beni was the one with the funny accent.

"Yes, I'm very hungry," Beni said in response to the young woman's question. He put an extra whine in his voice and wore his best mournful expression for good measure. "It is my first day in Cairo and nobody around here cares if I starve. That's how it goes in these big cities."

That wasn't entirely true. It was actually his second day in Cairo and he could usually mooch food off of O'Connell, but Beni had spent so much time stretching the truth that the lie sprang to his lips automatically.

"You're lucky I just finished shopping," said the woman, indicating a basket that hung from one arm. "If you follow me, I can get you something to eat."

The promise of free food was the only thing that urged Beni to stay with this woman and follow her through the unfamiliar streets. She wouldn't stop chattering the entire time she walked and seemed to think that Beni was interested in her whole life story. Her name was Emese Barta, she eagerly informed him, and she had been living in Cairo for nearly six months. "I get paid to be a companion to an old German widow," she explained. "I speak fluent German, you see."

"_So do I_," Beni replied smugly in German.

Emese stopped walking and gazed at him with round eyes. "What about Arabic? Do you speak good Arabic?"

"O_f course I do_," Beni said in Arabic.

"You're fortunate. My Arabic is terrible."

It wasn't often that Beni impressed people with his knack for languages. Most Arabs were annoyed that he could understand them when they tried insulting him in their native tongue and everyone else found his accent funny, the way Wilcox did. Beni had thought about grabbing the basket that hung at Emese's elbow and making a run for it, but he tucked that idea at the back of his mind and continued to follow her. The crowded streets and market stalls soon gave way to a neighborhood populated by white people, the kind who probably looked down their noses at the thought of sharing a street with Arabs. The house Emese approached wasn't as large as many of the others, but it was a palace compared to the filthy tent Beni shared with O'Connell and a few other soldiers. Emese let herself into the front door and hesitated, standing perfectly still and silent as if listening for something, then beckoned for Beni to follow her inside.

"We have to be quiet," she warned in a whisper.

She removed her wide-brimmed hat and carried it in one hand as she led Beni through the front entrance hall and up a set of stairs. Every few steps she would freeze and listen hard, then continue walking until she reached a door at the very end of a carpeted hallway. It felt like it had been a hundred years since Beni last felt carpet beneath his feet.

"I've never brought a man home before," Emese said as she opened the door and led Beni into a small bedroom. Once they were both inside, she shut the door and lowered her eyes, suddenly shy. "I'm not supposed to bring any men here, but I couldn't leave one of my fellow countrymen on the street. The old widow doesn't speak Hungarian and she's always trying to correct my German."

Beni was only half-listening, tired of her constant chatter about herself. He eyed up the bed, which boasted a real mattress and a couple of small pillows, and sat down on the edge without invitation. "I have been marching all day long," he told Emese, looking at her with pleading eyes. He hadn't done any real marching since yesterday, but she didn't need to know that. "It feels so good to be in a real bed. I normally sleep on the hard ground."

"Oh, that's terrible." It didn't take much to get Emese's pity.

"Yes." Beni swung his legs up onto the bed and sprawled onto his back, leaning his head against the pillows. He could probably get Emese to take his boots off for him without any arguments. "You mentioned food earlier, didn't you?"

"That's right. I have to drop this off first." Emese indicated her basket. "And then I'll feed you, I promise."

She disappeared from the room, her blonde braid whipping behind her as she darted out the door, and Beni breathed a sigh of contentment. Perhaps he could desert from the Legion and hide out in this old widow's house until his garrison left Cairo. It wasn't like anybody would miss him, except O'Connell perhaps. The rest of them would probably throw a celebration once they realized he was missing.

Of course, if he _did_ desert, he wouldn't be able to see Hamunaptra, and Hamunaptra was the only reason he didn't abandon the Legion ages ago. All that wealth buried beneath the sand... How could he pass up that opportunity?

When Emese returned with a cloth bundle in her arms, Beni decided he would make his choice later. He had more important matters to deal with. He sat up in bed and watched with greedy eyes as she set the bundle on a little side table and unwrapped it, revealing bread (fresh, white bread, rather than the hard crusts Beni was used to), a couple of sausage links (how long had it been since Beni had proper meat?), and several pieces of fruit. Beni had no time to thank Emese and snatched up the bread so he could sink his teeth into the soft white dough. It tasted heavenly and he quickly forgot Emese's presence a he enjoyed the first good meal he had tasted in ages. His longing for Hamunaptra grew stronger with every bite. If he had the gold and treasures of Hamunaptra in his grasp, he could buy his _own_ nice house and eat like a king every day, without having to sneak around to avoid the notice of an old German widow. He wouldn't have to deal with people at all, especially a lonely Hungarian woman who was just dying to fill his ears with more chatter the moment he stopped eating.

But Beni wasn't a rich man yet. He _did_ have to sneak around the old widow's house and put up with the lonely Hungarian woman, and when he swallowed his last bite Emese saw it as an invitation to start talking again.

"You really _were_ hungry!" she said, gazing in wonder at the scattering of crumbs Beni had left behind. "Don't you soldiers get fed?"

"Oh yes, we get fed," said Beni. "But the food is no good. You're not allowed to have anything nice in the French Foreign Legion."

The name of the Legion made no impression upon Emese. She had clearly never heard of it, or else she would have demanded to know if he was a criminal, the way some people did. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "Can I get you anything else? I have cigarettes, too." She produced a pack of cigarettes from the top dresser drawer. "I'm not supposed to smoke either, but it helps me get through the day."

"I'll smoke later," said Beni. "First, sit down on the bed."

Emese hesitated, then took a few slow steps to the very end of the bed.

"Not there. Sit closer to me."

Emese obeyed and sank down on the mattress, close to Beni. All he had to do was move his arm just a little in order to touch her, if he wanted. "I hear Budapest is interesting," Emese began, determined to fill the air with as many words as possible. She glanced shyly at Beni, then looked down at her lap. "Vasvar isn't terrible, of course, but I've always wanted to see Budapest. How long did you live there?"

The last thing Beni wanted to do was discuss that crowded shithole where he spent his childhood. "I don't want to talk about Budapest."

"The Legion, then. What's that like?"

"You misunderstand me. I don't want to talk at all."

"I'm sorry. Am I taking you away from your duties? I didn't mean to—"

Beni caught Emese by the wrist and held it, silencing her. "No. I want you to stop chattering and..." He whispered the rest of his request in her ear.

Her face turned pink and she stared down at her lap. "I don't know if we should."

"Let me guess. You're not supposed to do that either."

Emese nodded. Still blushing, she raised her eyes to meet Beni's and didn't look away. "We would have to be very quiet."

She was so desperate for someone who spoke her own language, Beni knew she would do anything he asked. "Then we'll be quiet." When he reached a hand under Emese's skirt, she sucked in a breath but didn't pull away.

Maybe Egypt wasn't so bad.

* * *

_Note:_ According to most of the sources I checked, the name Emese is pronounced like "ema-sheh."


	2. 1925

1925

Beni still hated Egypt, but Egypt had become a habit. He never expected he would return to that miserable city, but of course he never expected to return from Hamunaptra without any treasure either.

Hamunaptra. What a fucking joke.

The only thing the City of the Dead had given Beni was an excuse to scam money out of unsuspecting strangers, mostly foreigners who were willing to do anything, even put up with Beni on a boat for three days, in order to set eyes on the famed lost city. None of them ever saw it, of course. Beni had better things to do than lead people all the way out to Hamunaptra, so he took his money and ran at the first opportunity, back to Cairo. He always ended up back in Cairo. He could have settled in any city, in any part of the world, but month after month he found himself in the same place. Beni hated being hot, but he hated being cold even more.

Sometimes, when he wasn't busy scheming and finding new ways to steal, his mind would wander to a young woman named Emese Barta, but he never saw her after that first week he spent in Cairo. Not until the day she called out to him on the street.

"Beni!"

Beni's first instinct was to run and hide. Plenty of people called out to him on the streets, and it was rarely for a good reason. But then he heard his name again, more loudly this time, and something about the voice was familiar.

"Beni! It really _is_ you!"

If she hadn't been speaking Hungarian, Beni would have never known it was her. The woman who stood on the street calling to him was not the same girl who had taken him home two years ago. Her dark blonde braid was gone; instead her hair had been cut to her earlobes in the stylish bob that was so popular with women, and her clothes more expensive than the cheap, sensible garments she wore the last time he saw her. She even wore cosmetics.

Beni resented her stylish appearance. She had obviously moved up in the world, while he still had nothing. Of course, she might be able to provide him with better handouts, now that she looked as if she had more money. Beni swallowed his sarcasm and forced a smile upon his face as he approached her.

"Emese. It has been a long time."

"I know." She looked down at the ground for just a moment, revealing some of the old shyness that Beni remembered, then looked back up into his eyes. "But I would recognize you anywhere. I never thought you would return to Cairo."

Neither did Beni. He never expected a lot of things to happen over the last couple of years, and Emese's reappearance was at the top of the list. Yet there she was, standing on the street just like the day he first met her, still eager to talk to someone who spoke her native language.

"Well I'm back," Beni said evasively. She didn't need to know that he had been back in Cairo for two whole years. She didn't need to know anything. "What about you? I haven't seen you around."

Emese glanced down at the ground again. "I've been out of town."

That was when Beni saw it: a simple band of gold that circled a finger on her left hand. Beni could always spot a piece of gold, no matter how small. "Sure you have," he said with a mocking little smirk.

She seemed distracted and didn't acknowledge his words. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay and talk," she said. "Do you know how to find Shepheard's Hotel?"

"I can find any place in this city."

"I want you to meet me there in about an hour. Can you do that?"

Of course Beni could do it, but it didn't mean he wanted to. Any respectable hotel would throw him onto the streets the moment he walked through the doors. "I'm a very busy man," he said.

"Well I'll be waiting for you, Beni. I hope you don't disappoint me."

Beni watched her walk away with a sneer on his face. Who did she think she was, coming by with her fancy new haircut and her fancy gold wedding ring, giving him orders? And how the hell did she end up married? The girl Beni remembered was as likely to get married as the toothless old man who begged near the Legion's camp two years ago. Knowing the rules of the old German widow she once lived with, Emese probably wasn't allowed to find a husband, but if she could easily break the other rules then Beni supposed she could break that one too.

She had a lot of nerve, calling out to him on the street like that. He wasn't supposed to see her again. His first visit to Cairo lasted for a week and he often snuck away from camp, avoiding the notice of his fellow soldiers as he crept away to the old widow's house. Emese was allowed a couple of hours to herself each day and she used that time to look after Beni, providing him with food, pleasure, and cigarettes in exchange for conversation, while the other Legionnaires made do with prostitutes and cheap beer. Beni didn't bother saying goodbye when it was time for him to leave Cairo; he simply departed without a word and dreamed of the gold hidden beneath Hamunaptra, thinking of all the women he could have when he was a rich man.

But then he returned to Cairo with bad memories and nothing in his pockets, and when he tried to sneak into the old widow's house he found that Emese was gone. Like every speck of brightness that touched his dark little life, Emese was just a temporary relief that wasn't meant to last.

Still, it might be worth his while to see her again. He could definitely use a free meal.

An hour later he arrived at Shepheard's Hotel, a massive building that housed the sort of people Beni would gladly rob, if he got the chance, and found Emese waiting outside. She kept glancing around with nervous eyes, reminding Beni of all the times she snuck him into the widow's house, and murmured a soft "Follow me" as she turned around and entered the hotel.

Beni crept behind her and looked about with shifty eyes, just dying to get his hands on the jewelry worn by the women staying in the hotel. They probably had piles of jewelry back home; what would they care if a couple of necklaces went missing? Emese led the way in silence, keeping her eyes straight ahead as she took Beni to the elevator, and Beni crossed himself before following her through the double doors and into the waiting contraption. He didn't trust elevators and added a silent prayer in Yiddish for good measure.

He was glad to leave the hotel lobby, though. People kept looking at him like he was a stray dog that had wandered into the building, like he wasn't good enough to walk along them. Even the man who operated the elevator behaved as if Beni were a cockroach.

Emese finally broke the silence as the elevator started to move. "Are you still a soldier, Beni?"

"No," Beni said, his voice practically a whimper. He reached under his shirt and clutched the religious amulets that hung around his neck, just in case.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Emese.

The moment the doors opened, Beni pushed past the elevator man and into the hall, where the floor remained stationary the way it was supposed to. "Next time I'm taking the stairs," he said, shooting a glare at Emese.

She busied herself with opening one of the rooms and didn't see his look. "Hurry, get inside."

"Why should I hurry?" said Beni. "Are you still not allowed to bring men home with you?"

"Beni, please. Just get inside."

"You're a lot bossier than you were two years ago," Beni grumbled as he entered the hotel room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the spacious bed and he started walking in that direction until he noticed the bottle of champagne that sat in a bucket of ice. His mind made up, he went for the champagne and carried it to the bed.

"So when did you get married?" he asked Emese. He situated himself upon the soft mattress and popped open the bottle.

Emese's eyes grew round. "How did you know I'm married?"

"Anyone could figure that out. I saw the wedding ring."

"Oh." She sat down on the bed as well, maintaining a safe distance from Beni, and tucked her left hand out of sight.

"Is he a rich man?" asked Beni.

"Who?"

"Your husband. Is he rich?"

"I don't want to talk about my husband."

Beni smirked and drank his champagne. He liked unnerving her. "He's not Hungarian, is he? He can't be Hungarian, or else you wouldn't be talking to me."

"No, he isn't Hungarian. He's an English soldier." Emese took out a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth, then lit it with a match. "I can smoke as much as I please now. That's one good thing about being away from that old widow."

She was trying to change the subject, but Beni's curiosity had been piqued. "Why would you marry an English soldier? English is a pain-in-the-ass language."

"Not long after you left, the old widow wanted to take a trip to Alexandria. I met a soldier there named Henry Collins and he helped me with my English." Emese smoked with her right hand, keeping the left one tucked out of sight once more, and chose her words with slow, deliberate care, though she seemed to have kept her old habit of chattering about herself. "I was tired of being companion to an old German woman, so I married him. We've been living in Alexandria until very recently."

"That's no good reason to get married," Beni scoffed.

"You wouldn't understand. Men don't understand these things."

"I don't think there's any good reason to get married. It's nothing but trouble."

Emese studied the cigarette in her hand, watching the little tendrils of smoke that curled from the end. "Maybe you're right."

"I know I'm right," said Beni. He glanced around the room, hoping to find something stronger than champagne, or at least something to eat. He certainly didn't come here to talk all day long. "Why did you bring me here?" he asked, suddenly on edge. "What if your husband comes in?"

"He won't."

"Well why did you bring me here?"

Emese looked down at her lap, unable to meet Beni's suspicious gaze. "Everyone calls me Emma now. Henry's friends and family can't pronounce my name. I just... I want you to stay for a little while. It reminds me of home."

Beni rolled his eyes and poured more champagne, wishing more than ever for something stronger. "You women are too damn sentimental. I have better things to do than sit around and remind you of your stupid past."

"What do you do now that you aren't a soldier?"

"That is none of your business."

"Well..." Emese finally met his eyes, her face full of an emotion that Beni recognized, for it mirrored his own frequent desperation. "Why don't we have lunch, for old times' sake?"

Emese Barta had become Emma Collins, but she was more vulnerable than ever before. Beni looked at her hand; not the left one, but the right one that clutched the cigarette, and his eyes traveled to the thin silver bracelet clasped around her wrist. "I'll have lunch with you if you give me your bracelet."

"You know I'll do anything you ask, Beni," she said, giving him a sad little smile. "Anything at all."


	3. 1926

1926

Beni rolled off of Emese and listened to her pant beside him, a smirk plastered upon his face as he lay on his back and caught his own rapid breath. There was nothing quite as satisfying as screwing another man's wife. It was the ultimate form of stealing. Emese was often out of town, thanks to her idiot husband dragging her all over Egypt for reasons that Beni didn't care about, but whenever she was in Cairo, Beni's fortunes were guaranteed to improve.

A year ago, Emese gave in to his every whim because he helped her cure her homesickness. Now she slept with him to spite her inattentive husband and didn't seem to care if Beni was just using her as an easy fuck and a meal ticket. She didn't seem to mind his cramped, run-down apartment either and always came to visit with a package of food under one arm, dressed in her drabbest clothes to avoid attention. In spite of the comfortable life she led with her soldier husband, Emese was still a desperate woman, and desperate people were just begging for someone to take advantage of them.

Beni got out of bed and started to get dressed, knowing that soon she would realize he had no further use for her and would sneak out of his dark little apartment, like she always did. After that he would probably go for weeks without seeing her, and then one evening she would come knocking at his door, ready for him to use her again. Almost like a whore, only better because he didn't have to pay her.

He busied himself with pulling on his trousers and could hear her rustling beneath the thin, moth-eaten blanket, no doubt getting ready to put her own clothes in order. "Henry has a mistress," Emese remarked. She sounded calm, almost bored. She could have been commenting on the color of Beni's walls.

Beni snickered at this unexpected news. "Are you sure? I always assumed that your husband couldn't get it up." He had never asked why she chose to sleep with him instead of her husband, and she had never bothered to tell him. He and Emese didn't know each at all, really, and Beni was grateful, because it was the only way he could tolerate her for so long.

"Oh, no. Henry has no trouble getting it up," said Emese. "He's had a mistress for months now. I suspected it for a while, but I only just found out."

"What does it matter?" said Beni. "All husbands cheat on their wives."

"Not _all_."

She was such an innocent. She had no idea how many lies Beni had told, or how many people he had cheated, or how many friends he had stabbed in the back. She knew nothing of his Hamunaptra scam and thought he took frequent trips out of the city because he was transporting goods down the river. Beni pulled on his suspenders and turned around to face her, amused by the foolish certainty in her voice. "Oh, yes," he told her earnestly. "_All_ husbands cheat on their wives."

Emese shook her head. "My father never had an affair."

"How do you know that for sure?"

"I... I don't. But I'm certain that he didn't." Emese sighed and threw off the blanket, revealing her legs that were bare aside from her stockings. Her dress had been pushed up to her waist and she pulled it down, trying her best to fix her crumpled appearance. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I used to feel so guilty, sneaking off to meet you here, but now I'm glad I've been doing it for all these months. He deserves it."

"Of course he deserves it. He's an idiot."

"I think I'm going to leave him."

Beni frowned as he grabbed his fez and jammed it onto his head. "What?"

"I think I'm going to leave Henry. I'm tired of speaking English and listening to people call me Emma because they can't pronounce my name."

Beni no longer felt like the smug man who screwed another man's wife and got away with it. A bitter dissatisfaction seeped into his heart and choked out every decent feeling he had. "That's ridiculous," he scoffed at Emese. "If you left your husband, where would you go?"

She looked up at him from her spot on the bed, her eyes wide and beseeching. "I don't know."

"Well you're not staying here."

"Why not? I've done an awful lot for you, Beni. The least you could do is pay me back."

The thought of sharing his living space with another person made Beni sick. He felt stifled, like all of Cairo's heat had suddenly filled his apartment, and he went to open his window only to find that it stood open already, providing the slightest amount of relief. "My apartment is tiny," said Beni, gesturing with his arms to indicate the cramped space. "There's no room for another person here. Besides, I'm going on a trip down the river next week."

"I'll go with you, then," said Emese.

"You can't. This is a very important trip."

Emese looked at Beni for a long moment, then grabbed her shoes and started to put them on. "I understand, Beni," she said quietly. "I know that you're selfish and unfriendly, and that you would push somebody in front of a train if it meant you could save yourself, but I thought things were different with you and me."

Beni wished she would leave so he could get a drink already. Or several. "Why the hell would things be different?"

"I don't know. I just thought... I thought we were allies. Maybe not friends, but definitely allies. Why can't we sail away from Cairo together?"

"Because I said so," said Beni.

"All right, then." Emese slid off the bed and straightened her clothes one last time, erasing all the evidence of Beni's touch. She looked uncertain for a moment, reminding Beni of that lonely girl he met in the streets three years ago, but Emese Barta soon disappeared and Emma Collins took over, holding her head up high as she stepped across the floorboards. "Goodbye, Beni," she said as she walked past him. "Have fun on the river."

"I will," said Beni. "Have fun with your cheating husband."

The door slammed shut and Emese was gone.

Beni forgot about her as he counted down the days until his upcoming scam, in which the latest suckers would hand over their money in exchange for the last trip of their lives. He didn't need Emese anyway. All she did was remind him of where he came from, and who in their right mind wanted that? Emese was just another sucker, just like the tourists Beni lured to Hamunaptra, and all suckers outlived their usefulness sooner or later. She could leave her husband and skip town by herself, for all he cared. Beni only associated with her because she gave him free food, always put out without a fuss, and did whatever he asked, but Emese was nothing special. He had met women who were more interesting and screwed whores who were much prettier, and it wouldn't matter at all if she never came knocking on his door again.

Hungarian was only a language, after all. What did he need with some lousy language? It wasn't like he intended to go back to Budapest.

Despite his willingness to forget Emese, he wasn't surprised when the day of his trip arrived and he found her at his door, her hands completely empty for once. She had removed her wedding ring and he could see the pale band of skin on her finger, the only remaining proof that she had married an English soldier and caught herself in a trap.

"I already told you," said Beni. "You can't stay here."

"I'm not trying to stay here, Beni," said Emese. "I'm in a hotel now, at least until my money runs out."

"Well don't come begging to me for handouts. I can barely feed myself."

"I know." She still hadn't lost her habit of looking down at the ground when she was embarrassed or insecure, and she dropped her eyes down to Beni's floor, staring at the decrepit wood that had borne her footsteps month after month. "When do you leave for your trip down the river?"

"Today," said Beni.

"I guess this is goodbye then." She absently rubbed at her left hand, touching the place where her ring used to be. "I'm thinking about returning to Hungary. I have a couple of aunts and a grandfather who are still alive."

"Good for you, then. Goodbye."

"Wait." Her voice was soft but firm, offering him one final plea. "I'm not going to let you send me off like that. I want a real goodbye."

Beni couldn't remember Emese asking him for anything in all the time he had known her. He thought he could simply push her out of his life without giving her another thought, but something in her words kept him from sneering at her and chasing her off with a half-hearted insult. "Why do you have to make things difficult?" he asked. "What do you mean by a real goodbye?"

"I just want to talk for a few minutes. And I don't want to lift my skirt for you this time. I've already done that enough."

This was definitely not the girl Beni met three years ago. The younger Emese was wide-eyed and full of hope, eager to please to the point of desperation, and she always, always gave in. Beni didn't like this new side of Emese; she was too bitter, too jaded, too interested in herself and her own needs. She was a little too much like _him_. He watched her sit down on his bed, her hands folded primly in her lap, and suddenly wished he had never met that lonely, wide-eyed girl on the marketplace streets. He wished he had never stayed in Cairo.

"Make this quick," he said. "I have to leave soon."

"Will you miss me when you go?"

Why did people have to ask questions like that? Questions like _Will you miss me?_ and _Do you love me? a_nd _Do you really mean that?_ Did people enjoy getting flimsy lies in return for their ridiculous questions? Did it make them feel better hearing what they wanted to hear?

"No," said Beni, scowling at the floor. "I won't miss you at all."

She seemed unfazed by his cold words. "I don't think I'll miss you either."

"Why not? What have _I_ done?"

"It's not about what you've done, Beni. It's about what you haven't done."

"That makes no sense."

She offered him a sad, defeated little smile, the smile of a woman who was alone in a strange country. A woman who couldn't depend on her husband. A woman who couldn't depend on anyone. "I don't think this relationship of ours was meant to work out," she said. "I was desperate to have a friend in this country, to have anyone who spoke my language and understood me, and I didn't see it until it was too late. My mother always told me not to talk to strangers, you know. I should have listened to her."

Beni scoffed at this. "If you didn't talk to strangers, then who the hell would you talk to?"

"Nobody, I guess. Speaking the same language isn't enough to unite two people." Emese rose from the bed, her hands falling limply at her sides, and looked towards the half-open door. "I guess this is goodbye, then. You have a boat to catch."

Beni said nothing and turned his gaze to the wall, staring at the peeling paint as she walked through the door and out of his life. He didn't watch her leave, but he knew she was gone when her footsteps faded away and nothing but silence remained, a hot stifling silence that made his apartment feel ten times smaller than normal.

He wouldn't miss her. He wouldn't miss her at all.


End file.
